Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Rays' Worst Player This Season Makes Recent Trade Look Even Worse

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 7:00 AM ET

With the season completed for the Tampa Bay Rays, it’s now time for the franchise to reflect and find ways to improve. The 2025 campaign started out with some promise for the Rays, who were very much in the mix for a good chunk of the year. Unfortunately, things fell apart a bit in the second half.

The Rays were three games over the .500 mark at the mid-summer classic but ended up finishing the season with a 77-85 record after a disappointing second half. Tampa Bay did look to make some improvements for their bullpen early in July, but this was a team that was pretty much out of contention by the trade deadline.

While there were a lot of bright spots for the team, with a record under .500 there were a lot of disappointments as well. One of the players who has been a significant disappointment is someone that the franchise had some high hopes for. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the worst player for the Rays in 2025 being Christopher Morel, who hasn’t lived up to expectations at all for Tampa Bay.

Morel Has Disappointed

In the early summer of 2024, the Rays made a big deal with the Chicago Cubs to send infielder Isaac Paredes there in exchange for Morel. The 26-year-old slugger was off to a good start in his career with the Cubs, putting together some solid campaigns in 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, Morel slashed .247/.313/.508 with 26 home runs and 70 RBI. The slugging percentage being over .500 was an extremely impressive number and he was regarded as a talented young player coming up for Chicago.

Prior to being dealt to Tampa Bay, the slugger was struggling for the Cubs. In 103 games, he slashed .199/.302/.373 with 18 home runs and 51 RBI. While the power numbers weren’t terrible, Morel's batting under the Mendoza line was.

With multiple solid campaigns prior to the trade, the Rays likely figured that the slugger would bounce back. However, that has not been the case. In his first full season with Tampa Bay, he slashed .219/.289/.396 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI. It was an extremely disappointing year for Morel, and he finished with a negative WAR.

The Rays had a losing record in games that Morel played in, and the franchise will have to figure out what his role might be going forward. With him still under team control for quite some time, Tampa Bay will be hoping that he can regain the form he had earlier in his career.